While Walker was gliding past Torreys defenders at better than 14 yards per trip, Scot Allen was handling the bulk of Christian's scoring chores. Allen, who had missed the previous four games with a sore shoulder, scored on runs of 2, 5 and 8 yards.

"I have no problem with who scores the touchdowns as long as we win the game," said Walker, who has accumulated 1,941 yards and 17 TDs on 214 carries this season. "All I want to do is go to CIF and win that."

"We are going back where we belong – in the finals," added Oliver, whose Patriots last reached a championship round in 2002, defeating Horizon for the Division IV crown.

A 21-point third quarter by Christian broke open what had been a close game for a half. Christian needed only three plays to advance the ball 56 yards for a score after a shanked Torreys punt gave the Patriots possession at their 44. Walker contributed a 43-yard dash to that drive, which culminated with Allen's 5-yard run.

Less than a minute later, Kyler Dwyer returned a punt 76 yards for a TD, stretching Christian's advantage to 21-0 with 8:03 left in the third period.

"I think our defense set the tone, because we were struggling offensively in the first half," Oliver said. "We made some adjustments on our blocking schemes at halftime and that really helped us."

The Patriots took the opening kickoff and marched 73 yards in 14 rushing plays for the only score of the first two periods.

Allen (17-68) barged the final 2 yards and Dwyer kicked the first of his four PATs.

The main force in that time-consuming drive was Walker, who logged 57 yards on six carries.

Walker, however, would touch the ball only three more times during the opening 24 minutes. He finished the first half with 86 yards.

La Jolla Country put together one march of note, taking the ball to the Christian 22-yard line early in the second quarter. Key tackles by the Patriots' Kevin Bradel on third down and a tipped pass by Patrick Kelly on fourth down ended that LJCD scoring bid.

Christian missed a chance to add to its narrow lead when a nine-play, 46-yard drive stalled. A 40-yard field goal attempt by Dwyer was blocked.